In Your Eyes
by Ruxandra Antonescu
Summary: Writing challenge by Leatharegee (post seen at batmanwonderwoman dot com).
1. Chapter 1

_Just playing around with this one. Even I don't know what happens next... But I'll publish any way. Maybe I'll finish this one day. Who knows? ;)_

_Original challenge reads:_  
_Power Swapping By Leatharegee_

_Bruce and Diana have very different, very complimentary strengths and weaknesses. Bruce is wary of metas and Diana's never been without her super strength and meta abilities. Imagine a situation in which Diana loses her powers and Bruce gains them. How would Bruce react to being more than human? How would Diana handle being without her powers? Would Diana be able to accept falling in love with a man physically much stronger than herself?_

_Currently ironing out the update for A Royal Engagement... Will put it up soon!_

_I don't own BMWW._

* * *

**In Your Eyes**

"Stop being so stubborn!" Diana yelled as she yanked the covers off the bed. In her anger, she forgot to modulate her strength. A loud rip resounded through the bedroom.

"Look who's talking!" Bruce bit out, fists clenched tightly by his sides as he struggled vainly against the glowing lasso around him. He suppressed a wince as pain lanced through his side. "You don't understand! No! You _refuse_ to understand!"

Diana whirled around to face him. Being almost as tall as Bruce, it only took a small lift of her chin for her to meet his eyes glare for glare. "No, _you_ don't understand. _You_ refuse to understand! _You_ almost got killed! By the gods and goddesses of Olympus, I _will not_ allow you to patrol Gotham in your condition!"

Unbeknownst to the rest of humanity, the Justice League had just succeeded in foiling an alien invasion. In a last ditch effort to protect the Earth, Bruce, in his typically fatalistic manner, had flown the Javelin straight into the heart of the mothership. If it had not been for the combined efforts of Superman and Green Lantern, Bruce would not have been present to suffer the wrath of the Princess of the Amazons. It took J'onn a considerable time with the healing ray to work on Bruce's massive multiple injuries. As it was, Bruce's body still had a lot of recuperating to do because the minute he regained consciousness, he adamantly insisted that he was fine and that he needed to return to Gotham. The Martian Manhunter had acquiesced reluctantly but made a point to contact Diana telepathically to inform her of what Bruce was up to.

"Not allow me?" a muscle on Bruce's jaw started to tick. "Not _allow_ me?"

Diana let out a long-suffering sigh. "Oh, Bruce. Do you even have any idea just how much it hurts me to see you behave like this? Do you have any idea at all? If only you could see through my eyes, you will understand."

"And if only you could see through mine, Princess," Bruce said softly.

* * *

Atê had a bad reputation among the deities. Most considered her bordering on evil, accusing her of causing a raucous not only among mortals but among the gods and goddesses as well. In truth, Atê only wanted to help avenge evil deeds and inflict just punishment upon offenders – much like Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution or the Erinyes, the three underworld goddesses who avenged crimes against the natural order. But to Atê's eternal chagrin, she almost always ended up wreaking havoc worthy of her mother, Eris, the Goddess of Discord.

Because of her desire to aid the cause of justice, she had observed earth's mightiest heroes during most of their adventures. Sometimes, even helping here and there. But every time she did, something always went wrong. If she didn't know better, she'd think she was cursed.

Atê looked down at the sleeping couple. Among all the members of the Justice League, these two fascinated her the most. No two people could have been so alike yet so different at the same time. She had to admit that she got a giddy feeling when the two started to develop deeper feelings for each other. The relationship was certainly not a bed of roses. Well, maybe it was. But one needed to remember that roses have thorns.

The goddess tapped her lip, an idea forming in her head. She was not the Goddess of Love but… _It couldn't hurt, could it?_ She asked herself.

After a few minutes of deliberation, Atê made up her mind and cast her spell.

* * *

Diana groaned as she rolled over to her side. She hurt all over. It felt like she crawled through the depths of Tartarus and back. Twice.

"What in blue blazes is going on?" she heard herself yell. She ignored the pain as she bolted upright into a sitting position. A wave of nausea hit her from her sudden position change. She closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. Slowly, she turned to look to where Bruce was only to see...

"Great Hera…" she whispered. Her decidedly masculine hand flew up to cover her mouth when she heard herself speak in Bruce's baritone. Looking down at herself, she saw Bruce's wide expanse of scarred chest and trim torso. She shook her head in disbelief. The movement made her head spin. _The concussion_, she realized. _Bruce had a concussion._

"What is going on here, Diana?" She could see Bruce shaking, visibly trying to control herself, _himself_.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Bruce," she replied. Her eyes roved over Bruce's sleep-tousled hair, down to his smooth cheekbones, his luscious ruby red lips, his long neck… She felt a tightening in her loins… _By the gods! Wait!_ She told herself in panic. _That's me! I can't be feeling __**this**__ towards __**myself**__, can I?_ She licked her lips battling down her desire. Or was it Bruce's?

Diana – or rather Bruce, in Diana's body, ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Huh?" Diana tilted her head to the side in confusion.

A fiery red flush started creeping up from Bruce's neck towards his cheeks. "You know," he looked meaningfully at Diana's boxers. "That."

"Oh." It was Diana's turn to blush. "It's okay – I mean – it's umm – is this normal?"

Bruce's lips twisted wryly. "It's not uncommon when I'm around you."

"I see."

Bruce was looking at her with awe. "Do you really feel this… this _tenderness_ every time you look at me?"

Diana's blush did not recede. "Sorry."

"Serves you right for using the lasso on me," Bruce retorted. "We seriously need to discuss violations of free will, Diana."

"Oh, put a lid on it, Bruce," Diana snorted. "This is coming from the person who made contingency plans on how to take out every single one of the Justice League?"

"Touché, Princess," Bruce gave her a very rare affectionate smile. He reached over to cradle Diana's face. "I'd kiss you but…"

"It's too weird," Diana finished the sentence.

"Now," Bruce's tone became brisk and business-like. "Which of your gods did this?"

"How sure are you that it's them?"

Bruce arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," Diana bit her lip, thinking. "Any one of them could have done this."

"And to what purpose?" Bruce frowned.

* * *

"Nruter sith elpouc ot lamron!" Swirls of light flew from Zatanna's wand.

Bruce blinked. "Nothing happened, Zee."

"I can see that Di – I mean, Bruce," Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Paws seidob won!" The talented magician tried again.

Bruce started to scowl. "Still nothing."

"Zee is trying her best, Bruce," Diana placed a placating hand on Bruce's arm.

Zatanna gave an exaggerated shudder. "It's actually scary to see Batman being very… _nice_…"

"Zatanna…" Bruce said warningly.

"… And Wonder Woman being so catty," Zatanna finished drily. "Tell me again what happened exactly."

Diana sighed. "I woke up feeling sore all over and when I turned to my side, I saw Bruce, rather, I saw myself."

"And what were you doing before this happened?" Zatanna asked.

"None of your business," Bruce snapped.

Diana gave him a warning look. "We had an argument before we went to sleep."

Zatanna smiled slyly. "Was he being mule-headed again?"

"As per usual," Diana chuckled. She proceeded to tell Zatanna about their argument.

"Hmm," Zatanna mused, cocking her head to one side. "And what words were said?"

Diana shook her head. "Nothing that could lead to this, I think."

"Wait," Bruce's eyes widened in recollection. "You told me 'If only you could see through my eyes' and I told you if only you could see through mine."

"A body swap spell!" Zatanna laughed. "This spell can only be broken once you've 'seen' through each other's eyes."

"Then it should have been broken the minute I woke up," Bruce told her matter-of-factly.

"No," Zatanna explained. "It would seem that both of you wanted to know what the other felt like. So, the spell will only be broken once the condition has been met. Either that, or we find whoever it was who cast this spell on both of you and ask him or her to reverse it."

"Condition? What condition?" Diana questioned.

Zatanna shrugged. "It could be time-based, say, you 'see' through each other's eyes for a day or a week..."

"A week!" Bruce was a decibel away from yelling. "I can't patrol Gotham in this body! There's no way I'm…"

Zatanna held up a finger, interrupting the beginnings of his tirade. "Or it could be that you must learn something about each other. It depends on how we interpret the 'see through my eyes' bit."

* * *

"How do you control it?" Bruce growled in frustration. He shoved himself from the cave wall and brushed himself off, bits of rock falling around him. As soon as Zatanna left, the couple decided that it would be best if they both learned how to _**be**_ each other. First up in Bruce's agenda – flying.

"You know what? I honestly don't know. I guess I've always taken it for granted. I just – fly," Diana shrugged. "Maybe it would help if you imagined it as something else. Like maybe… riding a bike?"

Bruce nodded curtly, brow creased in concentration. He hovered several feet off the floor. Cautiously, he began to fly in circles around Diana.

"Very good, Bruce," Diana praised his efforts. "So, I assume I will take over patrolling Gotham until this spell takes its course?"

"No!" Bruce whirled around in midflight. The momentum sent him crashing once again into the cave wall. A ground trembled slightly as Bruce pounded an infuriated fist against the rock face.

Diana rolled her eyes. "Really, Bruce. Think about it. You're in _**my**_ body – a meta's body. And you have not mastered it just yet."

"I'll be damned if I allow you to fight crime in Gotham while you're in mine!" Bruce stalked towards her.

"Are you implying that I am incompetent to do so?" Diana's eyes glinted dangerously. A feeling of incapacitating dread began to pulse inside her as she stood glaring at Bruce, as she stood glaring at _herself_. She wanted to weep with worry. It took all of her self-control to quell the impulse. _Great Hera,_ she thought. _Where is this coming from?_

Bruce's face softened. He reached up and touched her cheek gently. "You are no longer immortal, Princess."

As if a light bulb lit up in her head, Diana suddenly understood that the feeling of worry was Bruce's. "You're worried about me… I never realized you felt this strongly, Bruce."

"It seems that this is not a total swap," Bruce sighed. "Looking at you – at myself, I feel an overwhelming sense of absolute, unquestioning trust…"

"Because I do trust you, Bruce," Diana said softly. "Now, if only you would extend the same trust to me?"

"You know I do."

Diana knew, or rather felt, that he was telling the truth. She could feel that Bruce trusted her but did not want to put her in harm's way – immortal or not. He wanted to protect her, to shield her, not just from physical danger but also from the cruel world that he grew up in. She could feel his fear, his guilt…

"I struggle with that every day, Princess," Bruce told her, correctly interpreting her pained expression.


	2. Chapter 2

_Again, I do not know where I'm going with this story... Lol #RandomScenes... Just trying to get the creative juices flowing for the update for 'A Royal Engagement.'_

* * *

**Sorry I'm Not Sorry**

Diana stepped out from the shower and started drying her hair with a towel. She did a double take when her fingers met the short-cropped hair on her head.

_Right_, she thought sheepishly. _I'm in Bruce's body._

She walked over to the mirror by the sink and wiped away the thin sheen of steam covering its surface. Bruce's striking blue eyes stared back at her.

His eyes, _her_ eyes, followed the rivulets of water running down his sculpted body. With a mind of its own, her finger lightly traced a long, thin scar from his chest down to his trim torso. Desire blazed through her system, a knot forming at the pit of her belly. She could feel her very core throbbing with… a hunger… a mind-blowing yearning.

Unable to curb her curiosity, her hand closed around the evidence of her desire. She stroked up and down the long, thick shaft.

_He likes it when I do this_, she realized, the body swap spell heightening her awareness of Bruce and of herself. _Almost as much as I like doing it to him… _Her other hand moved up the hard, flat plane of Bruce's stomach, up to his chest.

"Diana! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Diana jumped at the sound of her own voice. She was so engrossed with her exploration of Bruce's body that she didn't notice him entering the bathroom.

"Bruce! I'm sorry… I… uhh…" Diana stammered. She could feel her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.

Bruce closed his eyes, fists clenched tightly by his sides, struggling for control. "We have to get you to the charity event. Bruce Wayne needs to be seen attending it."

"We still have time," Diana stepped up to him, the overwhelming desire to touch him, to be near him overrode all feelings of embarrassment. _His eyes_, she told herself. _Just focus on his eyes_. She cupped his cheeks with her hands, forcing him to look at her.

Sparks flew when their gazes met.

"Princess…" Bruce whispered as Diana lowered her mouth closer to his. "Don't…"

Diana pressed her lips against his, heedless of Bruce's weak warning. She felt like she was drowning in a deluge of emotions. Hers. His. Theirs. She could feel the desire, the passion… the tenderness… and a devotion so strong that… _Could it be?_ She thought.

She heard Bruce sigh in defeat. His arms wrapped around her, drawing her insistently against him. He held her so closely that…

"Ah!" Diana gasped in pain.

"Oh my god, Diana! I'm sorry!" Bruce let her go.

Diana rubbed her right side gingerly. It hurt to breathe. She felt a twinge in her heart. She started feeling uncertain… almost… _insecure_… _Bruce? Insecure?_ Diana frowned. _Impossible…_

Diana had always admired Bruce's complete command of his body and mind as evidenced by his cat-like agility, his sure and deadly strikes, his cold and calculating tactics. Being a trained warrior herself, Diana knew just how much precision and control it took to disarm an opponent instead of to kill. He had such a high-level of physical conditioning that some times, she found it hard to believe that he was not superhuman. The pain on her side reminded her otherwise.

_No… Not insecure… _Diana tried to filter out the variety of emotions within her._ Resigned… Why would he feel… Great Hera, his mortality, _Diana's eyes widened in realization. _He knows that this body will grow old and sooner or later he will pass away_… Diana tried to push the disheartening thought from her head.

"It's okay, Bruce. I'm fine. I don't think anything is broken."

"Tell me where it hurts," Bruce commanded curtly and started palpating her ribcage.

"Bruce, stop it," she answered in a no-nonsense tone, swatting his probing fingers away. "I think you and I both know that you've been through worse."

Bruce looked down glumly, dropping his hands down by his sides. "It's just that…"

"I know, Bruce," Diana placed a placating hand on his chest. "Gods help me, I _know_."

Bruce stared at her for what seemed like forever. Knowing Bruce and _being_ Bruce, Diana already had an idea of what he was feeling, what he was thinking. She knew that he wanted to talk about what was happening between them but she also knew that now was not the right time. She gave herself a mental shake. And she could almost feel him doing the same.

"We better get ready for the gala," Bruce finally said. He looked down at where Diana's hand was. An amused smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Seems to me you have the playboy billionaire persona down right, Princess. A word of advice though – wait until you've had several drinks before you start groping me."

* * *

"Diana, that is enough," Bruce muttered under his breath, watching helplessly as Diana downed her champagne in one long gulp. "That's your fifth drink in under one hour."

Diana looked at Bruce over the rim of her glass – from the top of his sleek and straight platinum blonde wig down to his perfectly pedicured toes peeping out from a pair of royal blue Manolo Blahniks.

"We just got here," Diana said. "You spent more than 2 hours getting ready for this gala. Let's not waste your efforts."

Bruce could feel Diana's curiosity while she watched him dress up for the gala. He had chosen a very skimpy tube dress that clung to Diana's voluptuous curves like second skin. It was embellished with silver sequins so ostentatious that it bordered on tacky.

"_I know you don't like it," he had given her an apologetic look. _

"_I look like a disco ball."_

"_Which is why it is perfect," Bruce had explained. "Wonder Woman would never wear this dress."_

_Diana nodded in agreement. "Even if I lived a million years." _

_And you __**will **__live on long after I'm gone,_ _he thought with a bittersweet smile. And if I can, I will spare you the pain of my passing. No woman deserves that kind of pain, you least of all, Princess… _

Since Diana herself never bothered with cosmetics, Bruce felt just how amazed she was watching him putting on make-up. With the aid of foundation, Bruce had expertly transformed Diana's tanned, olive-toned skin into a paler, pinkish color. Smoky eye make-up complimented the grey contact lenses that he wore. Blusher emphasized Diana's high cheekbones even more and a trick with the lip liner and lip gloss made her lips look much fuller than they usually were. By the time he was done, Bruce felt and saw that the Amazon princess did not recognize herself.

When Bruce put on the designer stilettos, he chuckled silently when he felt just how surprised Diana was to find out that he had no problems walking in skyscraper heels.

"_How can you walk on those?" Diana had given him a curious look._

"_Wouldn't you like to know," Bruce had replied with a mysterious smile. "It is fortunate that this spell did not give you access to my memories as well."_

Diana deposited the empty champagne glass on a table and grabbed another from a passing waiter.

"Don't be so uptight, Alyanna," the teasing, woozy grin that Diana gave him was quite befitting of Bruce's public persona. "Like you said earlier, you have a reputation to protect."

"And like I said earlier, I only _pretend_ to _be_ drunk," Bruce groused. "And it's Tatjana not Alyanna."

"But I'm no good at pretending," Diana took a long sip of her new drink. "I might as well get dru – "

"Ah, if it isn't Bruce Wayne!" A singsong voice interrupted. "Long time, no see."

Diana whirled around and nearly tripped over her own feet. She blinked at the blonde newcomer.

"Vicki," Bruce whispered urgently in Diana's ear. "Vicki Vale."

"Vicki! Vicki Vale!" Diana parroted. "It's – uh – it's nice to see you."

"Enjoying the champagne, I see," the reporter observed, amused. She looked over pointedly to Bruce, waiting for an introduction.

"Just tipsy," Diana slurred. She grabbed Bruce's elbow and moved him forward a little. "Vicki, Vicki Vale this is Bru - I mean... Alyssa. I mean, Tanya. Tanya Dom… Duma…"

Bruce gritted his teeth behind a vapid smile. "_Tatjana_ Dumanovsky," he said with a heavy Russian accent. "I am pleased to meet you, Ms. Vale."

Vicki gave him a sympathetic smile. "Likewise, Ms. Dumanovsky."

"Come now, Anyana," Diana grabbed Bruce's hand and pulled him toward the dance floor. "Let's dance."

"Oh, but Bruce," Bruce replied in his most whiny voice. He subtly tightened his hold on Diana's hand, effectively keeping her in place. _Thank God for super strength_, he thought. "You're drunk. You'll only step on my feet. Can't we go somewhere more… private?" He batted his eyelashes for good measure.

"I want to dance," Diana insisted.

"Please, _zvyozdochka_*," Bruce began pulling her to the exit. "I want to go." _Come on, Princess_, his eyes urged silently.

"One dance," Diana bargained.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. A smile touched his lips when an idea on how to get Diana out of the party formed in his head.

"Okay, then," Bruce replied with a mock sigh of resignation. "Just one."

"Just one dance and we go," Diana nodded. She turned and gave Vicki Vale a crooked grin. "See you around, Ricki. I mean, Vicki."

"Enjoy the rest of your night, Bruce," Vicki replied with a knowing shake of her head.

Bruce smirked when he recognized the opening notes of the song that the band was starting to play.

"What's so funny?" Diana asked.

"The song," Bruce explained. "It's from a movie back in the 70's – Freaky Friday."

Diana frowned. "And that's funny because…"

"It's called 'I'd Like To Be You For A Day,'" Bruce answered dryly.

Diana giggled.

"Bruce Wayne does _not_ giggle, Princess," he reminded Diana softly. "And put your arm around my waist, not my shoulder."

"Oh! Sorry!"

"Now, just hold on and allow me to lead," Bruce instructed and began to dance, deftly making it look like Diana was leading. "I'll create a diversion, ok? Then, we can get out of here."

Diana nodded as Bruce increased the tempo of their steps in time with the music.

"Bruce, not so fast," Diana nearly stumbled. "You're making me dizzy."

_I'm sorry but that's **exactly** what I'm trying to do, Princess…_ Bruce thought. _In 3, 2, 1…_

Right on cue, Diana threw up on Bruce.

"_`Tchyo za ga `lima_*?!" Bruce shrieked shamelessly. The guests looked over - some gaped in disbelief at yet another blunder by Gotham's favourite playboy, while others started to snicker. "You ruined my dress!"

"You did that on purpose!" Diana glared at him accusingly. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Great Hera, why won't the world stop spinning?"

"You will take me home at once!" Bruce ranted. He grabbed her arm and started to drag her across the room.

"Wait… don't…" Diana tried to wrench her arm from his unbreakable grasp. "I… I think I'm going to be sick..."

Diana clamped her free hand over her mouth when she felt the contents of her stomach start to rise up her throat. She tried to swallow against it but to no avail. With a gag, Diana puked once again.

"MY SHOES!"

* * *

Bruce crouched beside his favorite gargoyle, overlooking the city he had long ago sworn to protect. After he put a drunk Diana to bed, he decided to risk going on patrol.

He sensed a presence behind him. "What are you doing here?" he asked gruffly.

"I was in the neighborhood," Nightwing replied, stepping up beside him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Batman is… temporarily indisposed."

"Wow," Batman's former protégé looked him up and down, taking in the Batgirl costume that he was wearing. "Did somebody break his arms and legs? He must be in a really bad shape if he's allowing a meta to patrol for him."

Bruce scowled.

"You've perfected the Batglare," Nightwing chuckled. "Impressive."

The sound of wailing sirens saved him from a cutting remark. The two of them looked down and saw a truck frantically weaving in between cars with two police cars in hot pursuit. In one smooth move, Bruce fired his grappling gun and dove off the building.

"And you've even got that move right, too," the ex-Boy Wonder said as he whizzed past Bruce. "Why don't you just fly?"

Bruce gave out a low growl.

"Oh, I get it," Nightwing answered his own question. "No metas, thus the Batgirl costume."

"Just try and keep up," Bruce snarled. With one mighty leap, he landed on top of the fleeing truck.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you really _are_ Batman."

* * *

"Good morning, Miss Diana, Master Bruce," Alfred intoned. "You've made quite an interesting story in the society pages today."

"Morning, Alfred," Bruce replied, leading an unsteady Diana into the kitchen. He glanced at the newspaper on the table. An unflattering picture of him throwing up in the sidewalk was plastered on The Gotham Times.

"Great Hera," Diana groaned, staggering against Bruce. "It feels like there's a stampede inside my head."

"Serves you right," Bruce said. He pulled out a chair for her. "I told you to pretend – _pretend_ – to get drunk."

"It's too bright in here," Diana pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes. "And _what_ in Tartarus is that _smell_?"

The elderly butler blinked twice, looking from one face to the other – the only sign of surprise on his otherwise dignified visage.

"Bacon and eggs… Miss Diana."

Diana grimaced. "Ugh. I don't think I'll have any of that for… Wait…" Diana opened one eye and peered at Alfred. "How do you know it's me?"

The straight line of Alfred's usually austere lips wavered into a smile. The corners of his eyes crinkled. "I have been in service in this family since the 'world's greatest detective' was in diapers, Miss Diana."

"Alfred…" Bruce said warningly.

"Nasty little things, diapers," Alfred continued, unfazed. "Although, if I may be so bold, I don't think I shall mind changing diapers once again. "

"Alfred!" Bruce exclaimed in embarrassment.

"I am an old man," Alfred gave a mock sigh. "And it is this old man's wish to – "

"Alfred," Bruce interrupted forcefully. "You will escort Diana today and see to it that she behaves accordingly."

"And by 'accordingly' I reckon you mean…" Alfred trailed off.

Bruce nodded. "Make sure she sleeps during the board meeting."

* * *

_**A/N: Zvyozdochka – Russian for "little star";`Tchyo za ga `lima – Russian for "what the f." Or at least that's what Google says ;)**_


End file.
